Blow-out imitator and the method of packaging the same



March 29, 1938. L. R. HARTMAN" BLOW- OUT IMITATOR AND THE METHOD OF PACKAGING THE SAME Filed Feb. 10, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 29, 1938.

L. R. HARTMAN BLOW-OUT IMITATOR AND THE METHOD OF PACKAGING THE SAME Filed Feb. 10, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,ll2,t88

PATENT HQE BLOW-OUT IMITATOR AND THE METHOD OF PACKAGING THE SAME Application February 10, 1936, Serial No. 63,288

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a blow-out imitator and the method of packaging the same and as conceived and designed an explosion in imitation of a tire blow-out is caused by a detonator in the form of a toy fireworks torpedo. With this device one can safely plan an amusing trick by attaching the device to a tire of a friends car.

When the car is moved and the rotation of the wheel brings the detonator into engagement with the pavement it explodes with a loud bang which is a perfect imitation of a tire blow-out.

Accordingly one of the primary objects of the invention is the provision of a toy or joker torpedo.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a toy joker torpedo which can be utilized without danger to the automobile or tire or danger to spectators or passers-by from flying fragments.

Another and further object of the invention is the provision of such a device constructed in a 20 particular novel manner whereby it can be boxed or packaged cheaply yet in a manner to fully comply with the rules and regulations of the Bureau of Explosives.

A still further object of the invention is the 26 provision of a toy or joker torpedo having a novel explosive mixture and to thereby provide a toy torpedo which is a distinct improvement over ones as now made and sold and has certain specific attributes and advantages which will be herein- 39 after more particularly pointed out.

Other specific features of improvement and advantage will appear in more detail from the accompanying drawings when read in the light of the following description.

In. the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one side of the front end of an automobile, the fender of the car being broken away in section to illustrate the 40 manner of application of the toy to the car tire.

Fig. 2 is a view in top elevation of the toy torpedo.

Fig. 3 is a view in bottom elevation of the invention.

45 Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view through the torpedo and a portion of its supporting and carrying base.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detailed view illustrating the torpedo in a position about to be exploded.

50 Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of Figure 5.

Fig. 7 is a view in elevation illustrating the manner of packaging the torpedo.

Having reference to the drawings which illus- 55 trate an embodiment of the. invention, A desi nates the toy torpedo as an entirety, B the carrying and supporting base therefor and C the spring clip which provides a means forattaching the device to an automobile tire in the manner illustrated in Figure l of the drawings.

Having reference now particularly to Figure 4, 5 it will be seen that the toy torpedo comprises a pair of telescopically arranged cup-shaped members ill and It within which is carried the explosive mixture 22.

In Figure 4 of the drawings this explosive mix- 10 ture is shown to be of a cake or tablet-like form which is the form the explosive has when first placed in its cup carrier. This explosive mixture is composed of red phosphorous and chlorate of potash with gum-arable as a binder and when first placed in its carrier it is of a liquid form and hardens into a cake or tablet as illustrated in Figure 4. Continued setting of the explosive mixture results in its binder drying out to such an extent that handling the torpedo or any jar '20 thereof will result in breaking down the cake or tablet so that the explosive assumes a granular form, as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings.

Ordinarily toy torpedoes carry sand, pebbles, or some abrasive mixture in conjunction with the explosive mixture to cause the same to explode when struck. The present mixture however when it becomes of granular form, will explode readily by even a light blow without the use of sand, pebbles or any abrasive mixture, with the result .30 that the device is much safer in use as it eliminates the flying particles of sand or the like, which has always been incident upon the explosion of toy torpedoes as now manufactured and sold.

The interior area of the telescopic cup-shaped explosive carriers is greater than the area of the bulk of the explosive mixture to provide a gas chamber is which is necessary to a toy torpedo of the present type. The explosive carriers are externally coated with a coating of wood flour and silicate of soda, or paint, or some other suitable like substance, indicated at M, and serves to act as a binder to secure the telescopic members against displacement from or movement upon one another.

The base B is composed of card-board, fibre board or other suitable like material and is of an area many times that of the toy torpedo and although illustrated in the drawings as being square in shape it need not necessarily be so shaped as it could be rectangular, round, or of any particular desired configuration. It has been found however that by making the base either square or :55

rectangular simplifies the packaging of the toy joker, as will readily appear hereinafter.

As here shown the relative sizes of the base and torpedo in practice is substantially one to sixthat is to say, the base is six times larger than the torpedo.

The toy torpedo is secured approximately centrally of the base, preferably, as illustrated at 45 in Figure 4 of the drawings, with glue or some other suitable like adhesive material. It is to be realized and understood however, that other and different means for securing it to the. base could be utilized without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The spring clip C which is utilized for attaching the device to the automobile tire, is composed preferably of suitable resilient wire, such as music wire, but could of course, if desired, be made of lead or could even be replaced by a string which would pass over the wheel rim between its spokes and have its ends tied together. The present and illustrated clip is however considered as providing a convenient and easy means of attachment of the joker to the tire and at the same time one which by reason of its resilient nature assuring against accidental displacement of the device from the tire as the car is started and the tire and wheel are revolved.

In its contracted form the clip is circular in shape but of sufficient length so that when expanded its ends l6 and I! are sufficiently far apart that even when applied to a tire of large size the ends of the clip are well around the side walls of the tire and will engage them under resilient tension. It will be obvious that due to the inherent resiliency of the clip it will similarly accommodate itself to a small sized tire.

This clip is illustrated as being attached to the base by a staple I8 but it is to be understood that other attaching means could be easily and readily devised. By use of a staple however it is possible to swing the clip in respect to the base and to place it in parallelism below and immediately against the bottom of the base, which is of advantage for compactness when packaging the device for shipment. The clip is illustrated in this position in Figure 3 of the drawings. When the device is to be applied to a tire the clip is swung at right angles to the base in a manner illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings.

In using the device it is preferably placed on the tire at a point well up under the fender of the car, as illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings, to reduce the likelihood of the car driver seeing the joker when entering the car to drive oif. As the car is moved forwardly the toy torpedo, as it is about to be exploded, will assume the position illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings. Here it will be seen that the granular explosive mixture has tumbled down into the cap I i with the result that the gas chamber iii has been shifted from the cap cup into the base cup I I. It will be further seen that the trailing edge l9 and the leading edge 28 of the base B adequately and fully protect the automobile tire M from possible injury when the explosion takes place and furthermore that the base B has assumed such a position in respect to the pavement or road-bed 22 as to cause the flying fragments of the pair of casing cups H and M to be confined to a path closely paralleling the road-bed, as indicated by arrow. As a matter of fact the base B will be more closely in parallel relation to the road-bed, when the explosion actually takes place, than is illustrated in Figures 5 and 6 of the drawings due to the fact that the tire must progress forwardly further than is here illustrated to bring about a sufficient pressure or impact upon the explosive material to set it off.

By directing and confining the path of travel of flying fragments to one closely paralleling and clcsely adjacent to the road-bed, it will be seen that possible injury to pedestrians or spectators is reduced to the minimum. Any fragments having a tendency to travel rearwardly will be trapped between the road-bed and the trailing edge of the base. The base also provides an assurance that the explosive will at all times explode when com.- pressed between the tire and the road-bed in that it is sufiiciently stiff and sufiiciently hard to prevent any possibility of the pneumatic tire drinking in the toy torpedo and passing over it without setting it off.

It has been found that the explosive will detonate without fail and thereby create an amusing situation and quite a joke upon the driver of the car when he gets out and looks in vain for the blown out tire.

The explosive mixture having obtained a granular form the grains working upon and against each other together with the impact or pressure brought about between the car tire and the road-bed, sets the explosive mixture off and due to the gas chamber 13 the report is a loud bang which is quite a realistic imitation of an automobile tire blowing out or exploding.

Under the rules and regulations of the United States Bureau of Explosives relative to the shipment of fireworks and explosives a toy torpedo, such as the present invention, must be packed in an individual container or must be within an individual compartment if packed with other like devices in a box or container.

Due to providing the present toy torpedo with an enlarged base or support it has been found possible to cheaply and advantageously package a plurality of them for shipment.

Figure '7 of the drawings clearly illustrates the improved method of packaging as well as illustrating the part which the large base or carrier plays in solving the shipping problem in an efficient yet non-expensive manner. Shipment of the top torpedoes as illustrated in this figure of the drawings meets with the approval of the Bureau of Explosives.

Describing the method of packaging in detail, and having reference to Figure '7 of the drawings, 3!] represents a card-board box which is approximately square in shape, and 3| the cover thereof.

This box is divided by card-board partitions, 32

and 33 into four compartments of equal size and which extend throughout the depth of the box.

Three toy torpedo devices are placed in each of the box compartments. The lowermost device in a compartment has its base B against the bottom M of the box and is then on its top side covered with a suitable cushioning material 35, such as saw-dust, shavings or the like. The second device is placed upon the top ofthis cushioning material and it in turn is covered to a substantial depth with cushioning materal. The third toy torpedo is placed upon the lastmentoned cushioning material and it in turn is covered and protected by a cushioning material. The bases B of the devices are of a size to fit snugly Within the box compartments with the result that in combination with the side walls and partition walls of the box these bases actually constitute bottoms to form within each individual box compartment a plurality of compartments.

Thus it will be seen that the bases are provided not only to function as heretofore described when the device is put into actual use, but also to function in connection with packaging the toy torpedoes for transportation.

It is to be observed and understood that if the bases were made in rectangular, round or other shapes the bases could still function as division members within the box by merely altering the shape of the box and particular shape of each individual box compartment to agree with the particular shape of the base and to coincide with the particular size of the bases.

It is to be further understood that the inventive concept of the method of packaging as disclosed herein need not be limited to a box carrying any particular number of toy torpedoes. The principle of the invention can be utilized in any box or container where more than one toy explosive device is carried within the box or package.

It is to be further understood that the particular improved explosive mixture heretofore described need not necessarily be used. A loose or granular mixture of chlorate of potash, antimony sulphide and small gravel, such as is commonly used in present well known toy torpedoes could be substituted, if desired.

I claim:

1. A toy torpedo adapted to be attached to a vehicle rubber tire comprising a base, an explosive containing case attached substantially at the center of said base, said base having an area, several times greater than the transverse area of said explosive case, a circular resilient clip having its ends overlapping and free, attaching means embracing that part of said clip between its free ends, said means attached to said card at one side thereof, whereby said clip may be turned parallel with the said card when not in use, for the purpose set forth.

2. A toy torpedo adapted to be attached to a vehicle rubber tire comprising a base, an ex plosive containing case attached thereto subtantially at the center of the said base, a circular resilient attaching member having free ends, a member embracing the said circular member and attached to the said base and at one side thereof, whereby the resilient member may be turned parallel with the said base when not in use, and at right angles to the said base when the torpedo is to be attached to the tire, substantially as set forth.

LOUIS R. HAR'IMAN. 

